Score sheet hold-down and sensing device

ABSTRACT

A device for projecting bowling scores and the like including a support surface, e.g., the prism face of a prism projector, for supporting a score sheet during projection, operable holding or clamping means, for clamping the sheet in proper position on the surface, and detection means for detecting the presence of the sheet in proper clamped position. A printer can be mounted for movement relative to the support surface between a retracted position removed from the surface and a printing position overlying the surface and the printer can be automatically shut off or rendered inoperable responsive to a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;paper absent&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; condition as detected by the detection means. The clamp can be moved to an unclamping position responsive to movement of the printer to retracted position, e.g., by limit switch actuation of a solenoid. The clamp can also be arranged to be moved to clamping position responsive to movement of the printer to printing position, e.g., by camming action of the printer housing.

D United States Patent [in 3,563,175

[72] Inventors Robert Torresen; 2,708,498 5/1955 Werner 192/125 William M. Crimmins, Muskegon,Mich., 3,188,949 6/ 1965 Hill 101/269 [21] Appl. No. 761,700 3,247,789 4/1966 Webb 101/93 [22] Filed Sept. 23,1968 3,269,307 8/1966 Bell ll/285X [45] Patented Feb. 16, 1971 3,446,144 /1969 lirampton et al. 101/408X [73] Assignee Brunswick Corporation Primary Examiner wmiam Penn Atmrney- Hofgren, Wegner, Allen stellmau & McCord [54] SCORE SHEET HOLD-DOWN AND SENSING I EVI E g g 6 Drawing Figs NBS TRAC T: A device for pro ecting bowl ng scores and the like including a support surface, e.g., the prism face of a prism [52] U.S.Cl. 101/322, projector, for supporting a score sheet during projection, l/285, 1O1/403 operable holding or clamping means, for clamping the sheet in int. pro er po ition on the surface and delectign means for de- B41f1/60 tecting the presence of the sheet in proper clamped position. Fleld A rinter can be mounted for movement relative to the suplt y); 'y) port surface between a retracted position removed from the 299, 269 surface and a printing position overlying the surface and the 56 R f d printer can be automatically shut off or rendered inoperable 1 e creates responsive to a paper absent" condition as detected by the UNITED STATES PATENTS detection means. The clamp can be moved to an unclamping 1,188,247 6/1916 Butterfield 101/306 position responsive to movement of the printer to retracted 1,791,163 2/1931 Frauenberger 101/306 position, e.g., by limit switch actuation of a solenoid. The 1,986,352 1/1935 Moulton 101/93 clamp can also be arranged to be moved to clamping position 2,427,418 9/1947 Rast 101/408 responsive to movement of the printer to printing position, 2,511,670 6/ 1950 Gollwitzer 101/322 eg. by camming action of the printer housing.

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CONTROL w SCORE SHEET HOLD-DOWN AND SENSING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a system for projecting bowling scores or other printed matter from a supported sheet which has received printed matter from a printer.

2. Description of the Prior Art I With the recent development and refinement of automatic scoring systems for use in scoring bowling games, projection systems have also been developed for projecting the printed score to a viewing screen. One advantageous such projection system is the prism projector which relies on the internal reflection from prism face to pick up an image for projection to a screen. The bowling sheet can be printed with score information directly on the prism surface with the prism functioning as a printing platen. The sheet is usually provided with a backing transfer substance to produce a visible image on the prism surface for internal reflection and projection. Such prism projecting systems are, for example, described in the following U.S. patents: Roop U.S.Pat. No. 3,249,022, issued May 3, I966; Byrd U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,003, issued May 3, I966; Ullrich et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,004, issued May 3, I966; Byrd et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,258,issued Aug. 30, I966; Cornel U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,300 issued Dec. 12, 1967; and Russell U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,259, issued Aug. 30, 1966. The disclosure of each of the above is incorporated into this application by reference.

The prism projection systems are especially advantageous when used in combination with a printer that can be moved relative to the scoresheet. An advantageous combination of printer and prism projector is described in Pratt, U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,212, patented May 28, 1968, and in Crimmins copending application Ser. No. 563,742, filed Jul. 6, 1966 now U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,443 issued Dec. 17, I968. The disclosures of the Pratt patent and the Crimmins application are hereby incorporated in this application by reference.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a new and useful system for holding a sheet in position while projecting printed information from the sheet. In one aspect, a detection system is providedfor detecting the presence of the sheet in proper printreceiving and projection position so that a printer, which can be used to print on the sheet, can be deactivated responsive to absence or improper position of the, sheet.

While an illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings, and will be described in detail herein, the invention is susceptible of other embodiments in many different forms and it should be understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a schematic side view of a system suitable for employing an embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view of a portion of a projection system including the embodiment used in the schematics of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a side plan view of the embodiment as shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section showing a portion of the paper detection system of the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4; and

FIG. 6 is an abbreviated wiring diagram showing association of switches and elements controlled by the switches.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning first to FIGS. I and 2, the illustrated system includes printer 12 mounted on pulley wheels 14 supported by rails 16 so that the printer can be moved from a retracted position, to the right as viewed in FIGS. I and 2, to a printing position overlying prism 18 of a prism projector, i.e., to the left as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2. The prism I8 is provided with a peripheral top frame 22 defining an opening for receiving a score sheet 20. The frame 22 and prism 18 are supported by suitable support or mounting means within the prism projector. It will be noted that a normally open limit switch 24 is mounted on a crossbar between rails I6 at the right ends of rails 16. Switch 24 is closed by the printer when the printer is moved to retracted position. 2

Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, a sheet-holding system 26 and a sheet detector system 28 are mounted on plate 22. As can best be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the sheet-holding system 26 includes a pair of brackets 30 secured to the bottom of frame 22 and extending downwardly. An arm 32 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 34 to each bracket 30 and an elongate lift pin 36 extends between and connects the two arms 32 offcenter from pins 34 so that arms 32 pivot as a unit. A clamp plate 38 is also secured at its two ends to the arms 32.

One of the arms 32, i.e., to the right in FIG. 3, is provided with an extension 40 (see FIG. 4) which is suitably connected by a pivot pin 42 to a connector arm 44 which is, in turn, pivotally connected by pin 45 to the actuator arm of a solenoid 46. Solenoid 46 is mounted to the bottom surface frame 22 and pulls in when energized and is returned by a return compression spring 48 when solenoid 46 is deenergized.

FIG. 4 shows the clamping system in clamping position in full lines and shows the parts moved to unclamping or release position in phantom. Solenoid 46 is energized to move the clamping system from clamping to release position. In clamping position, a sheet of paper 20 supported on prism 18 within frame 22 is held by clamp plate 38 against shifting on prism 18. In order to release the paper, solenoid 46 pulls in and pivots arms 32 to lift the plate 38. The paper can then be removed and replaced with another sheet if desired. On deactuation of solenoid 46, spring 48 urges plate 38 to return to clamping position.

Referring to FIG. 6, solenoid 46 is operated when both switches 24 and 50 are in closed position. Switch 50 is a contact of a printer homing switch which is actuated by a bowler for returning the printer to its retracted position for the purpose of removing the score sheet 20. When the printer reaches the retracted position, it closes the normally open switch 24 and plate 38 is immediately moved to paper release position by actuation of solenoid 46. When the printer is moved to printing position, switch 24 opens to deactivate solenoid 46, but if plate 38 does not return to clamping position, plate 38 will be cammed to clamping position by the printer housing during movement of the printer as illustrated by the broken line showing of the printer 12 in proximity to plate 38 in the broken line position in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 3 through 5, the paper detector system 28 includes two paper detectors spaced along the clamp plate 38 so that the correct position of the paper can be verified. The paper must be fully under the clamp at both detecting positions so that both paper detectors will detect its presence. If both paper detectors do not detect the presence of the paper, the detector system will indicate an absence or improper position of the paper and render the printer inoperative.

More particularly, each paper detector includes a mounting block 52 secured to the bottom of frame 22 adjacent the score sheet receiving opening. Each mounting block 52 is equipped with a roll pin 54 on which a pair of elongate arms 56 and 58 are pivotally mounted. An integral cross plate portion 60 interconnects each pair of arms 56 and 58 for conjoint move ment. Each arm 58 has an extension 62 and the clamp plate 38 is provided with a separate port 64 for receiving the extension 62 of each paper detector.

It will readily be seen that with the paper detector in its position shown in broken lines in FIG. 5, the extensions 58 are blocked by paper 20 from impaling plate 38 at ports 64. If paper 20 is absent at either port 64, the corresponding extension 62 will swing by gravity pull on the other ends of arms 56 and S3 and on cross plate 60 so that extensions 62 will pass into ports 64 and the other ends of arms 56 and 58 will fall to the position shown in full lines.

Each detector is provided with a permanent magnet 70 mounted between arms 56 and 58 on cross plate 60 and carried by the arms as they pivot around roll pin 54 between their full line position and position in phantom in FIG. 4. A reed switch 72 is mounted in mounting block 52 in proper position so that when extension 62 is blocked by the presence of paper 20, magnet 70 is not in alignment with the reed switch 72 contacts and the contacts are closed. However, when a magnet 70 moves to its full line position due to the absence of paper at either port 64, the magnet approaches the contacts of the reed switch 72 and the contacts open. As can be seen in FIG. 6, the

two reed switches 72 are mounted in series in a power line to printer l2 and opening of either reed switch 72 will cut off power to the printer and thereby render the printer inoperative. Thus, in the absence of paper in proper position on the printer surface, the printer cannot be operated. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,2l2 identified above, there is a drive means for moving the printer between the retracted position illustrated in full lines in FIG. 1 and a printing position overlying the sheet support surface as illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 1. The printer-positioning drive is controlled by a 1- evolution clutch in turn controlled by a solenoid. Additionally, as disclosed in the above-mentioned US. Pat. No. 3,385,212, the printer includes drive means for moving the printing elements through printing strokes under control of a lrevolution clutch in turn controlled by a solenoid. The reed switches 72 may be in circuit with the printer positioning solenoid such as that at A in U.S. Pat. No. 3,385,212 which functions to engage the l-revolution clutch to initiate printer movement, or in circuit with the printer cycle solenoid such as that at PCS in US. Pat. No. 3,385,212 which functions to energize the l-revolution clutch to initiate a printing cycle. In preferred practice, both controls are utilized, and if the sheet is not properly positioned, neither the printer-positioning drive nor the printer cycle drive would operate We claim:

1. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means delining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, means responsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, wherein each the detector comprises and arm means mounted on the support eccentric to its center of gravity for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and having one end heavier than the other, feeler means at one end of said arm means engaging said sheet under gravity urging from the weight of the heavier end of said arm, and means adjacent the position of engagement holding said sheet against movement by the arm.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said detection responsive means comprises a magnet on one end of the arm and a reed switch controlling the printer drive means and mounted in position with its contacts out of the influence of said magnet with the feeler means engaging said sheet so that in the absence of the sheet the arm pivots the magnet to approach the contacts to actuate the reed switch and disable the printer drive means.

3. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means defining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, means responsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, wherein said detecting means comprises a movably mounted member engageable with a sheet properly located on the support surface, means yieldably biasing the member to a first position engaging a sheet properly located and tea second position in the absence of a properl located sheet, including means on the support surface for ho ding the sheet properly located thereon wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a movable sheet-holding member, and means yieldably biasing the holding member to holding position.

4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the sheet-holding member comprises a clamp plate, and including a solenoid connected with the clamp plate for moving the clamp plate to release position against the bias of the yieldable holding means.

5. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means defining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, meansresponsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, means mounting the printer for reciprocal movement between a printing position overlying the sheet support surface and a withdrawn position exposing the sheet support surface, wherein said detecting means comprises a movably mounted member engageable with a sheet properly located on the support surface, means yieldably biasing the member to a first position engaging a sheet properly located and to a second position in the absence of a properlylocated sheet, including a switch device operably operable by the detecting member in one position for controlling the printer.

6. A device as defined in claim 5, including means on the support surface for holding the sheet properly located therein thereon in position for printing, and means responsive to movement of the printer for operating the sheet-holding means.

7. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a clamp member, and including means responsive to movement of the printer to retracted position for moving the clamp member to release position.

8. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a clamp member and including means responsive to movement of the printer to printing position for moving the clamp member to clamp position.

9. A device as defined in claim 3, including means providing an aperture in the sheet-holding member positioned when the holding member is in holding position to receive the detecting member when no sheet is properly located on the support surface.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,563,175 Dated February 16, 1971 Inventor) Robert Torresen and William M. Crimmins It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 47, delete "each"; same line, delete "and" and substitute --an--: line 48, delete "means".

Column 4, line 39, delete "operably" Signed and sealed this 1st day of June 1971.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. WILLIAM E. SGHUYLER, JR. Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

1. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means defining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, means responsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, wherein each the detector comprises and arm means mounted on the support eccentric to its center of gravity for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis and having one end heavier than the other, feeler means at one end of said arm means engaging said sheet under gravity urging from the weight of the heavier end of said arm, and means adjacent the position of engagement holding said sheet against movement by the arm.
 2. The device of claim 1 wherein said detection responsive means comprises a magnet on one end of the arm and a reed switch controlling the printer drive means and mounted in position with its contacts out of the influence of said magnet with the feeler means engaging said sheet so that in the absence of the sheet the arm pivots the magnet to approach the contacts to actuate the reed switch and disable the printer drive means.
 3. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means defining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, means responsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, wherein said detecting means comprises a movably mounted member engageable with a sheet properly located on the support surface, means yieldably biasing the member to a first position engaging a sheet properly located and to a second position in the absence of a properly located sheet, including means on the support surface for holding the sheet properly located thereon wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a movable sheet-holding member, and means yieldably biasing the holding member to holding position.
 4. A device as defined in claim 3 wherein the sheet-holding member comprises a clamp plate, and including a solenoid connected with the clamp plate for moving the clamp plate to release position against the bias of the yieldable holding means.
 5. A device for printing on a sheet comprising means defining a support for the sheet, means for detecting the presence or absence of the sheet on the support, printer means operative for printing on said sheet, drive means for operating the printer, means responsive to detection of the absence of the sheet by said detecting means for rendering said printer drive means inoperative, means mounting the printer for reciprocal movement between a printing position overlying the sheet support surface and a withdrawn position exposing the sheet support surface, wherein said detecting means comprises a movably mounted member engageable with a sheet properly located on the support surface, means yieldably biasing the member to a first position engaging a sheet properly located and to a second position in the absence of a properly located sheet, including a switch device operably operable by the detecting member in one position for controlling the printer.
 6. A device as defined in claim 5, including means on the support surface for holding the sheet properly located therein thereon in position for printing, and means responsive to movement of the printer for operating the sheet-holding means.
 7. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a clamp member, and including means responsive to movement of the printer to retracted position for moving the clamp member to release position.
 8. A device as defined in claim 6, wherein the sheet-holding means comprises a clamp member and including means responsive to movement of the printer to printing position for moving the clamp member to clamp position.
 9. A device as defined in claim 3, including means providing an aperture in the sheet-holding member positioned when the holding member is in holding position to receive the detecting member when no sheet is properly located on the support surface. 